Pocono utility customers urged to turn up heat on Met-Ed

Met-Ed is defending its response to recent power outages sparked by Hurricane Sandy, despite growing criticism from customers and public officials.

A hearing will be held in Harrisburg by a Senate committee about the response.

Pike County Commissioner Matt Osterberg is the latest to voice frustration that many Met-Ed customers had gone 10 days without power.

He is urging residents to complain to the state Public Utility Commission about the delays.

"Ten days without power up here, to me, is uncalled for. We were not devastated like in Long Island," Osterberg said.

Customers need to hear more from the utility, Osterberg said.

"There may be good reasons why the power is out for 10 days, but we need better communication from Met-Ed to explain why," he said. "I'm not looking to demonize Met-Ed, but they are not holding up their end of the bargain."

The Senate's Consumer Protection Committee will hold a hearing in Harrisburg on Wednesday to examine how power companies responded to Hurricane Sandy, said state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20.

The PUC and power company representatives will testify.

At a hearing after Hurricane Irene last year, some response problems were identified.

"I think some companies improved. I don't think all companies rose to the same level of response," Baker said. "My office has heard from many constituents with concerns about lack of communication."

Companies did reach out with information, but in some cases, the information was inadequate.

The bulk of complaints Baker received were from Met-Ed service areas in Middle Smithfield and Pike County.

Baker intends to invite the PUC to come to the Poconos to hold a hearing on storm response with local officials and the public and to look for recommendations on how to improve storm response.

"I think its important to the community. Citizens have some good feedback, and we should give them the opportunity to offer that," Baker said.

The PUC demanded detailed information from Met-Ed, PPL and other power companies last year following outages caused by Hurricane Irene and an October snowstorm.

For now, the PUC has no plans for that kind of response to Hurricane Sandy, though utilities are required to file routine written reports to the PUC within 10 days after the last customer's power is restored following any large-scale outage.

"Of course, with this we will be going back and looking at those things again," PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher said. "What we have noticed is there has not been the volume of complaints as last year."

Met-Ed replaced more transformers, which provide power to multiple customers, than in 2011.

The October 2011 snowstorm required repairing 22 miles of wire, Surgeoner said, while 88 miles of wire have been replaced due to Sandy in the 15 Pennsylvania counties Met-Ed serves.

Met-Ed has improved communication since last year, according to Surgeoner.

Company representatives are dispatched to any county emergency service center that requests it. The company uses Twitter and other social media to keep customers informed. Met-Ed's website has a "24-7 power center" to give localized information.

The northwest quadrant of Sandy — typically the strongest winds in a hurricane — hit Pike, Monroe, Northampton and Bucks County, where Met-Ed sustained the most damage, he said.

Thursday evening, Met-Ed's outage map reported five customers without power in Pike and 187 in Monroe. PPL's map reported six in Monroe and zero in Pike.